


retry, continue?

by roxasthatsastick



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Meta, Temporary Character Death, Time Loop, Time Travel, this is basically the save point as a time loop so
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2020-03-29 16:06:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19023316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roxasthatsastick/pseuds/roxasthatsastick
Summary: It was said that keyblade wielders were almost able to see the future, on the battlefield. That no blow could touch them, and ambushes were seemingly useless against their powers.(That never stopped dozens, hundreds,nearly every last onefrom dying anyway.)In the end, as knowledge was lost, even keyblade wielders considered it a myth. An exaggeration by those rescued by a wielder, distorted by hundreds of years, and dozens of mouths.Sora has heard these words, and fought these battles before.





	1. Chapter 1

Aqua could remember the lessons Master Eraqus had held soon after Ventus had come to stay with them. They were vague in different way than his usual way; vague from lack of info rather than the desire to have them learn on their own merit.

_(“It is said all Keyblade Wielders had this power in full, long ago.” Eraqus said. “That power has been diluted down, the bearers struck down by overconfidence before they could hold the ritual.”)_

_(Aqua blinked. Terra was a bit more vocal about his confusion. “‘This power’?”)_

_(“A blessing...or a curse to almost always live to see the end of the battle. Almost. But not quite.”)_

She shook her head and began surveying slowly for approaching heartless. Losing herself in memories in the Realm of Dark was not allowed. Not again.

 

* * *

 

Half the strangeness was being in another world, but the keyblade was its own impossibility. That didn’t mean Sora didn’t like exploring the worlds or wielding the keyblade, but sometimes he felt a bit out of place. It probably wouldn’t feel like that if his friends were there _(they_ promised _!)_ , but the thought was still there. 

When Sora first landed on Traverse Town, and even a few worlds later, he didn’t think much of it. Even being told how it was pretty much cursed didn’t change that, or locking a couple keyholes. Of course, he had no idea what the keyhole even was so it wouldn’t mean much. It was when he started getting better with the keyblade that he noticed.  
  
Sometimes when there was an ambush and, well, Sora wasn’t _certain_ why, but he’d already be prepping himself for battle before he even saw them. Or he’d get this...this _feeling_ and jump in front of Donald or Goofy to block a blow. But mostly, Sora found battles breaking down into patterns of uh, what did Riku mention that one time, deva… deja vu! The enemy would dodge _now,_ and Sora would need to use a potion _here,_ and there’s a fireball right about _now._  
  
Sora almost chalked it up to just getting better! There’s only so many fights for their life before someone gets better right?

 

  
  
And then he fought Riku, and every word seemed to ring in his head a moment before he even said it. Echo after echo, but Sora..? Sora had only fought him once right?


	2. Chapter 2

“I͘t͡’̕s ̵no̡ ҉u̸s͠e.”  
  
Sora looked up at Riku just as he looked down from atop the gate. Riku’s voice sounded harsh, sharp in a way he had never heard it, but Sora could barely hear it past _that echo_ . It was like Riku had said that over and over, hundreds of times, and then it all resonated with each other.  
  
Something was wrong with this, something was wrong with this place, _something was wrong with Riku_ . Sora stifled the urge to cover his ears. It probably wouldn’t even help. There was no way that was a _real_ sound.  
  
“T͘ha͢t͏ ̸͘g͘͜i̶rl̴͘͡ ̴̛͟h̨a̵͠s͞͠ ͘l̛͠o҉̧s҉t̵ h̢͝ȩr̛̕͟ ̷̕h̵ea҉r̶t͢.̷̴” Even through the echo, Sora could hear the dismissal in Riku’s voice. “S̴͘͟͜h̵͡͏͝ȩ̴ ̶͢͝͞͡c͏̛a͏̕n̴̢͟n̵̴̵͝o̸͝͡͏͝t̢̕̕ ̴̴̧͜w͜͜a҉̵̡̕k̢̛ę̛̛͜ ̨͞ư͜͝p͝҉.̛͡”  
  
“What? You…” Sora gazed at the person standing on top that gate. It looked like Riku, and if that ringing went away, it might even sound like Riku but… “You’re not Riku.”  
  
“T̯̦̰̕͞͠h̡͇̟̗e̩̭̕ ̶͕K͖͜e̛̖͜y͇̞͍̯h̶̥̯͖̣͜o̡̗͖̥͜l̷͍̦͝e̘̜͇̱͖ ̢̫̥̳̱͘͝c̷̴̦͙a̸̦̮̬͞ṇ̲̺͕͝n̴̞͘o̡͖̫ț͙̮͡ ͙̥̤̼͜b̝̭͢e̠̻̹ ͏͇̙̘͎̫̱c͏̧̺̻o̵͏̠̲ͅm͝҉҉̪̭p̛̥͙͘͠l͟͏͓̫͕ȩ͍t̸̡͍̮e̶̯͙͔͢d̸̻͘ ̤̗s̢o̭͚͔͡ ̺l҉̰̖̱̰o̺̠n͍g̶̷̟ ̶̻̠̭a̠̖ͅs̤̲̱̫͝͞ ͜͜͏͙͚͔t҉̘̟h̹̟̪ͅͅe̷̢͈͔ ̷̢͍̰̙̖̗l̷̩a͎͈͉͝s̴̶͔̼̖t̛͍̘̩͜ P̸͔̠r̲͈͢i̺n̥c̼̬͇̝ͅe͈s̲͙͔̥͔s҉͎͚̙̰ ̘͈͇o̼f͔̘͔̞̣ H͓ẹ̮̟̯̩̲͞ͅa̵̜r̤̱͠t̬̟̭ͅ ̳̙ͅs͏̧̰̝̙t̵̲̪̱͘į̲̹͘ḷ̝͘͟l̖̫̩͎̤͟ ̸̝̟͖̕s̰̬͖̙̬l̵̴e̛̥̹͞e̶̴͉͖̲p͎̲̪̫͟s̷̢̼̲.̙̖͍̠̗” Riku jumped down lightly, like the air was thick as water around him. The way his voice sounded, twisted and warped by the echo, he might as well have been.

Sora glanced down at Kairi and back up to the fake Riku. “Princess…? Kairi’s a princess?”  
  
“Y͏e̴s. A͏̷̧͘҉n̢͜d̴͟ ̧̢̛͟w͢į͢͠͡͞t̢͞͏͏͏ho͠u̶̢͢͡͡t̶̸̸̴ ̛͜h͞͡e͏r̶͟͢͟ ̵̛p̸o̵̡w̧̢̢̛e̢̢͠r,̴̕͜ ̕͟t̵̨he̷̢̢̕͜ ̷̴̶͟Kȩ̴͟͠y̷̴͟͠h̷ǫl̡͜ȩ̵͏̡ ҉̧͞҉w̴̧i̵̕͝l͝l̴̡͟͞͡ ̕͏͡r͜ęm̸a͜͝҉i̶̵̕͢n͢͞͏ ̴̡̨̨͢i̶̴͞n͞c̶̕͘҉͘o̕͟m͢҉p̷̷̛̕͘ļ̷̵̕͢e̷̡͘͡͝t͠ȩ.̶͝” Riku said. “Į̡̧̛͜t̶͠ ͏͘i̸̴͟s̵͠ ̢͢͞t̴͢͞i̴̷̡m̶͠e҉̶ ̵̢͜͟s̷҉h̡҉̧͞e҉ ̶̸͠͠ą̴w͜a̡k͡ę̵̵̵ņ͘͠e̷̷̡d̨̡͟.̢͢͟͏̡”  
  
The brunet clenched his fists. “Whoever you are, let Riku go! Give him back his heart!” Sora yelled back.  
  
The white-haired imposter pointed his Keyblade at Sora, almost casually. “F̵̮͔͕̙̦i̴̺̰͙r̷̡͓̭͉̠͉͇͎̩s҉͔̜̮̖̲̝͈͟t̸̷̰͇̪͠,̲̼̞͍ ̴̧͓̦̯͘y̴͠҉̟͔̲̝o̹u̷̶̼͚̹ ͜͏̵̩͔̥m̷̨̪͖͜ṷ͙͠ͅs͏̩̣͖t͙̖ ͇͙g̬͡͝i̦̣͜v҉̡͎e̜̗̻͠͞ ͜҉҉͕͕̼̟̞t̴̡̬͓ḫ̸̢e̡̱̞̘̞̺̙̘̲͕͢ ̥͡͝p̷̵̧̱̟r͈̺̮̪̘̤͉̕i̱̣̪n̥̖̭̲͜c͚̹̟͕̻͙̯̼̟͞e̱̘̠̤̫̖̲̫s̨̠̠͔͜s̶͓͠ ̣̭͙̣͎͚͢ͅb͉̘͎͚͚͈͙̩͜a͖̣c̱̤̪͕̳̱͖̜k̙̬͚̞̳͉͠ ̸̠̺̲̼h̷̛͎e̸͕̫͇͖r̮ ̪̻̣̕ͅḩ̹̩͢ͅe̹̥͘͠a̢̼͕r͖̟̻͞t̢͏̝̺̺͈̙͉͡.̡͏̟̩̫͍”  
  
“ _Ngh!_ ” Sora fell to the ground, hand pressed to his heart. _My chest… feels so heavy. Like something’s pulling at it._

“Sora?!” Donald quacked worriedly. Behind them, Goofy was banging on the barrier with his shield, but the sound was muted. If he was calling out to them, Sora couldn’t hear it.  
  
Footsteps rang out, echoing hollowly in the air around Sora. “D҉o̧͢͞n̵̷̛͜͟’̡͝͝͠ţ͢͞͝ ̶̧̕y͜o̵̡̕ư͢ ̡s͝e҉͘e҉̨ ͠y͜͞ȩ͜͏t̷?”  
  
Sora tried to look up at the imposter, before cutting off with a groan. “Wh… what’s…”  
  
“T̷͜h͘͞e ͏̷pr̷̸͞i̶̴n̛͟c̛͏e̢s̶̵͢s͟’̴͞s h̵̸̨̜̞͚͞ͅe̢̦̠̻̬̤̗͓̩͜ą̸͔̲̣̱r̥̰̗̩͎̗͉̥̝̳͢͞t̢͘͏̹̳͈̹̫̣̠̠̞ ̧is͢ ̵r̵e̴̸s҉p͘͢ǫn̴͡ḑ̶͘i͏n͘g̨̕.̶͠͏ I͢͠t̷̸͠ ̸͞h̨̛͢a͘s͞ ̷͟b͡e͞e͟͞n̢ ͝t҉h҉̴e͜ŗ̷e͜ a͏l̕ļ a͢ļ͝҉ǫn̸g̷͟. K̺̮̯͇͖͓̠͘a̸̸̩̙̹i҉̵̛̬̦̦̻r̴̢̘̬̖͓i̻͖͎͓͚̕͡ͅ’̵̵̱̫̪̞͉̟̺͇͔͢͝s̨҉̴̩̠̼̦͇ͅͅ ̸̨̥̗̮͕h̨̕͠͞͠e̵͓̘͉̫̰̜͚̺͇̯a̷̴̳͟͜͡r̢͔͔̝̬t̴̶̛͔̖͇͖̙ ̙͓̳̖͖̩̲̦̠͘͠͡r̸͈̜̙͔͙̕e̸̺̗̱̜̠̕s̸͔͓̬͉͓̣͡t̴̨̠͍͝ͅs̷̡̡̗̞̱̫̟̼ ̵̺̖͚̭̪̠̰̙͠͝ͅw̶̸̛̼͚͎i̗̺̬͇̯͝t͜͏̥̘̜͙͟h̴̢̪̟͔͇̥̭̘͜i͎̝̹͜ņ̶͉̯̩͈ ̸̤̹̝͕̖̘͇̫̱͝y̷̡͕͍̰̱̤͘͘o̸̯̹̠̻̪̩̫͓͔͡u̶̹̱̩̠̝͔͡ͅͅ!̛̻̟͍͕̟͟͠͠” Sora couldn’t even hear Riku’s voice anymore as he said that. All of him was lost in that other person and the resonance.  
  
“Kairi...Kairi’s inside me?” Sora’s eyes glanced away, as if trying to look inward. He couldn’t see anything, but was that why…?  
  
“I̵̧̡҉ ̴̢k̸n͝o̷̡̕͜w̷̶͝҉̢ ̕͟͏a̵͠l̸͏l̡͘ ̴̧͟͢t̢͢h̶ą̶̕͢͏t҉ ҉͘͏҉t̛h̶̸͘͢e̸̸̴̷͝r̵̢̡e̕ ̴͡͞i̸̷̡͡s͞ ͘͘ţ̵͜͜o͏͞ ҉̨k͡ņ͞o̷҉̶w̨̕͟.͏̧͝͞”  
  
“Who... _are_ you?”  
  
“Ị̸̵̵̸̶̴̷̶̷̵̵̸̸̵̴̷̭̠͋́́͝ẗ̷̸̵̵̶̸̷̵̸̸̴̶̵̶̷̸̴̷̶̶̷̷̶̲̥͓͉͈̪́͌̂̆̎͟͢ ̷̷̵̷̴̵̫̙́҉̷̵̶̶̵̶̵̵̷̶̷̵̴̶̴̶̴̸̵̢̘̙͓̯͑͋̿̏͜͞͠i̶̷̴̴̴̷̷̴̵̸̴̵̸̸̴̴̴̵̴̷̵̶̷̴̸̵̸̷̡̛̥̩̤͓̹̒̄̓̈́̽͐ͅs̸̴̴̵̴̶̤̈́͂͏̷̵̴̴̸͉̄̆ ̵̸̶̷̵̸̵̶̷̷̵̶̷̴̷̶̵̶̴̨̡̢̛̛͔̯͑̌̇͂͆I̸̵̶̴̴̴̶̵̴̶̶̸̶̵̶̸̷̴̵̶̶̵̵̵̸̢͓̱̳̖̜̘̲͆́̽̿̊͘҉̸̸̷̵̴̬̃,̸̴̶̴̶̸̵̵̶̵̷̷̴̶̴̵̷̶̷̵̞̟͚̠̐͌͌̀̓͞ ̷̷̸̵̴̸̵̶̵̵̷̴̶̷̸̵̵̴̵̶̸̷̴̵̷̸̷͖͎̫̦͇̊͐̄͑̀̈́̕͜͝A̵̷̸̴̴̶̴̴͘n̴̶̸̴̵̶̸s̵̷͔̪͕͕̜͢͠e̓͛̉̎ͤ̍͛͜m̶̷̷̶̶̵̶̴̸̶̷̸̴̸̷̴̨̍͗ ,̸̵̵̴̷̷̴̷̶̷̶̵̴̷̷̶̶̧̟̗̹̯̙̽̓͂͟ ̵̷̴̸̶̶̸̵̸̵̵̴̴̶̶̶̶̴̵̧̛͖̣̰̪́̿̐̐͘͞҉̶̵̵̶̶̸̶̸̷̷̸̶̵̶̵̶̷̵̵̵̸̢̫̫͇͙̓͐̆̾̌t̴̷̸̶̶̷̶̷̸̶̷̶̷̸̶̶̴̵̶̶̵̶̵̵̷̶̶̴̶̨̡̨̧̨͚̮͓̯͚̿̌̿̈̍̕̕͢h̴̵̴̴̵̵̴̸̴̵̵̶̴̵̸̸̶̴̷̶̸̶̸̴̷̸̸̶̴̸̶̴̴̷̵̴̨̡̧̟̫͖̞͓̦̤̘͙̄̊̂̑̎̕͘͟͜e̵̴̶̸̵̶̸̷̷̸̶̵̸̴̵̶̷̮͖̺̮͑̓͂͢ ̶̵̵̵̸̵̸̷̴̸̴͉͎̯̓̓͞͏̴̷̴̶̵̶̴̵̵̸̴̸̸̴̶̴̵̸̷̶̡̫̮̱͍͉̄̒̊̇͗͐͠S̴̴̸̵̸̴̷̵̵̷̴̸̶̴̴̵̶̨̝͎̏́͆̚͢͡ë̵̴̵̷̵̴̵̻͈͘͏̸̵̸̶̶̶̸̷̶̶̷̶̴̶̶̨̝̦͑̕̕͜͡ē̶̵̸̸̷̶̶̹͡k̵̶̷̶̶̷̵̷̸̶̸̵̸̶̸̵̶̡̰͓̙̽͑̈͘͢ȩ̷̷̶̵̶̸̴̶̷̴̴̶̷̷̸̴̸̵̴̶̷̶̵̷̴̴̵̴̷̶̶̸̢̲̗̘̣̯͓̔̆͑͑̓͘͘͘͜͢͝ŕ̵̷̷̴̸̶̶̴̵̷̶̸̵̷̸̵̪̭̱̮͆̑̒̕͡ ̸̸̷̷̸̶̶̸̶̶̶̴̴̷̶̸̵̴̷̸̴̷̸̷̸̡̬̙̰͙̣͚͙̑̿̂̈́̐͢͠͡o̵̴̷̴̸̵̶̸̷̶̷̸̶̸̸̷̵̷̸̵̸̷̶̷̧͔̪̜̞̮͆̌́͘͞f̴̷̶̴̶̴̷̵̷̶̷̸̶̶̸̴̸̵̶̵̵̵̸̶̵̸̶̵̶̬͕̝͕̝̱̑̍̇̃̓̅͜͜͡ ̸̷̵̷̵̵̸̴̴̵̷̷̴̶̶̴̷̷̸̸̶̴̴̶̶̷̵̸̶̛̺͔͙̳̪̺̱̄̄͆̈͆̉͘͘͞Ḓ̵̸̵̷̵̸̵̴̶̵̶̸̷̷̷̸̵̳̦̝̋̎̀͋͘͜͠å̷̶̵̷̵̵̵̷̴̶̵̴̴̶̵̶̴̴̷̴̸̸̵̷̡̢̛̭͎̯͓̃͌̃̓͘r̴̸̷̸̸̡̦̆ķ̶̵̶̵̸̵̵̸̴̷̸̵̵̵̴̸̸̴̷̸̷̶̶̶̣̩̲̹̦̲̇̊̓͢͝͝n̸̶̸̷̴̸̷̸̵̵̶̶̷̸̴̶̵̵̶̷̵̶̵̷̨̛͚̟͔̝̫̄̾̍̚͜ę̸̴̸̸̷̸̴̷̸̵̵̸̸̴̷̧̣͎̿͛͘͘s̴̷̸̶̷̸̶̷̷̴̷̸̸̵̴̶̴̴̵̴̴̸̸̸̷̸̶̶̴̶̸̡̧̮̙̫̜̖̀̍̿̽̀͌̇͊͊͟͟s̵̶̸̶̴̵̵̷̶̴̶̸̸̵̵̴̶̶̷̸̸̷̢͕͚͙̠͕̑̒̄͑͑͞͠!̸̵̵̸̸̴̶̶̸̴̷̸̶̷̷̸̷̴̷̸̸̸̴̶̬̹͓̤̤̫͗̉̐̕͝͡͠” Ansem waved his hands outward theatrically, and began walking toward Sora.  
  
Donald threw himself between Riku and Sora. “Quaaaaack!”  
  
Riku barely glanced at Donald, and kept walking as he slapped him out of the way.  
  
Sora clenched one hand over his heart, and one over his ear. Riku, Ansem, whoever he was was saying something, but Sora couldn’t hear anything past the echoes, overlapping and ringing like a bell. His heart too, it ached like it was being ripped out of his chest, which for all Sora knew, it was. Or at least, _a heart_ was.  
  
“ _Sora_ !”  
  
Kairi’s voice… it cut through all the noise.  
  
Sora heaved his Keyblade upwards as it clanged into a block. “Forget it! There’s no way you’re taking Kairi’s heart!”  
  
The two clashed for a moment, before Riku was knocked away.  
  
Riku brought his Key up into a high block and began slowly circling Sora. “S҉̴h̡ow̸̶ ̶͠m̡͢e̛͝ ͏͏y̡o̷ư̴r̴ ͜͝pǫ̕w҉e̕r̡͞!̸”  
  
Sora circled right back. He remembered this trick, even it was probably a lot more brutal now. Riku would taunt Sora into attacking, then punish him for it when Sora fell for it. Sora didn’t really want to know it’d be like now that they were enemies.

Eventually Riku huffed and lowered the block. “Ǫ̡͠k̴͟ą̛y̷͟͏.̢͢ ̸҉҉I̵̡͏͡f̧͝ ̴͠͝t̴̛h̴͢͠͏a͟͡͞ţ̵͞’̧s̡̛͢͝͠ ͟҉̷̵h̴̴o̸͜͡͡w҉̢̨̕ ͝͏҉̕y̨͞͞ǫ̷̕u̡̨͠͡ ̧̧̧̛w̴̛͏͜͡ą̶̕͜n̴̴̕ţ̵̷ ͏̵͜t҉͢o̸̴ ̵̴̧͘p̴̸̨͞l҉͡a̸̷̕y̡̕͞ ̷͝͏t̷͞͡h͟͡i͏̨͜͝͝s̛͘͘͝.̧̢͞”

He charged. Sora smacked it out of the way, but it stung from the force, the sound of impact rang in the air.

Sora followed up with another thrust of his Keyblade only for Riku to jump away.

The stalemate lasted for two, three more exchanges, the two equally matched.  
  
Every few jumps, Sora would catch Riku off guard with a smack or two, but it was slow going. Exhausting, really.  
  
Sora panted, and rolled out of the way of another strike to the ground beside him.  
  
“W̴͞͡e͏̕l̷̴̛co͞͏me͘ .̢.͡.͟ǫb̛͠l̶̡͘i҉̷vi̛o̷̢n҉̧!̕”  
  
Sora turned, slow, so _slow,_ just catching sight of something bright and painful before it all went dark.

 

_(“Want to give it another try?”)_

Darkness faded in around him.

_(“Of course!”)_

  
  
Sora blinked, then threw himself to one side. Fire soared past, with Riku close behind.

The Kingdom Key went up just in time to block Riku’s chain of blows, and Sora stumbled back from the force.  
  
The brunet followed up with a few attacks of his own, with only a couple not blocked. Sora’s wrist buzzed from the repeated clashes, and the bruises from Riku’s dash swing _ached_ .

Sora held up his Keyblade. “Cur-”  
  
Riku obviously felt no strain as he chopped down from the heavens onto Sora’s skull.

  
The darkness pulled him under.

 

  
_(“That looked...painful. Are you sur--”_

 _“I gotta! I can’t let Ansem take her!_  
_  
“...Alright.)_

 

  
Wrists buzzing, Sora jumped out and away from Riku. With a few feet of distance as protection, Sora thrust his Keyblade in the air as fast as possible. “Aerora!”  
  
Riku closed the distance fast, but his slash was buffered by the wind now.  
  
The brunet side stepped to hack back, but Riku easily knocked away each of his blows. Just like the last five times.  
  
Sora bit his lip and backed off again. “Fire, fire, fire!”  
  
Leaning through the smoke, Riku threw his harshly glowing hand up. “F̷̢͞o̸̴҉͏̛o͏̵͜l̶̷i̧s͘͠h ̢̡̕b҉̧͡ǫ̶͞y̛͘.̵”  
  
Sora could hear the smirk, even as he dodged frantically. The edge of the fire felt hot on his back.  
  
He needed health. _Cura made him a sitting duck (haha), but,_ reaching into his pocket, _maybe a… potion…_  
  
Sora gazed blankly at Riku as he swung down, unable to believe he was totally, absolutely, out... of... potions...

 

_(“Forgot to restock, didya?”)_

Salt brushes his tongue, familiar and overpowering.

_(“H- hey!”)_

 

  
Sora dug at the bottom of his pocket absently. “I know… I had one…” Striking gold, he pulled out one last mythril shard which he placed triumphantly on the counter. “Alright!! So how many mega-potions can you make with that?”

The moogle gave a flat look over the mounds of synthesis materials. “Forty-three, kupo. Want anything else with that, kupo?”  
  
Sora shook his head and grinned. “Nah, that’ll be enough.”  
  
“Come back in twenty minutes, kupo.” The shop moogle gave a withering look at the piles of materials. “ _Gonna have to call some contacts, kupo._ ” He muttered.  
  
“Alright!”  
  
Outside, Sora looked up at the stars, nostalgic. Traverse Town was so... home-y. It _wasn’t_ home, not nearly hot enough, but Sora couldn’t help but find it comforting in comparison to Hollow Bastion. It felt like it had been months since he’d been back here, but it hadn’t, Sora was sure it hadn’t. (He wasn’t at all; he had checked, but the calendar dates all felt wrong, wrong, _wrong._ )  
  
“Say Sora?” Sora started at Goofy’s voice, before relaxing. “Why did you want so many mega-potions all of sudden? I didn’t think we needed that many.”

Sora blinked. “Uh, preparation is good?”

“Oh?” Donald gave him a look that seemed pierce at his heart. “And who was it that forgot to pick up tents last time, leaving us to sleep in the cold, hmmm?”  
  
Sora laughed nervously. “Come on, it wasn’t that bad!”   
  
Goofy nodded, patting Sora on the shoulder. “Sleeping under the stars, with friends as company… It’s a real nice way to get to know each other.”   
  
Donald snorted, “And we sure got to know those heartless, _didn’t we._ ”   
  
“Ahahaha…”

 

***

  
Riku rose up, held by invisible strings. Sora gazed up after him, a little frozen by the sight.   
  
Riku pointed his blade up, then straight at Sora. “B̴̵̷̧̛̛̼̻̺̲͉̣͊͝ē̶̸̛̹̭͚̝͐h̶̸͎̼̤͚̓̽̕ȯ̷̶̡̡̲̦̚ͅl̷̴̸̶̢̡͈̰̲͆͋̐͝d̸̶̜̻̗̕͝͝,̷̷̶̶̗̪̬͍͆́̃͘͘ ̧͞t͢҉h̸͟e̵͜ ͘p͠o͜w̵er̢ ̵̕ǫ̸̨f ̶̛̜̟́d̶̸̥̤̭̔̔͛͜ȁ̸̷̷̡̛̳̻̪͆͐͟r̵̸̷̢̨̧̩̖̰͒̑̚̚k̸̷̢͍̯͇͐̕͏̴̶̶̨̰͔͋͠n̶̷̷̷̢̛̲̰̲̟̿̓̕̕ę̸̵̶̴̞̦͉͈͊̓̚͜s̷̴̷̲̞̗̈̈́s̸͖̪̈́!̷̩̽”   
  
Sora pulled his Keyblade into a block, too late by far. _Oh, shoo-_   


 

 _(“You’re getting close.”_   
_  
“Yeah.”)_

 

  
Sora tore his eyes from Riku, and jumped into a glide. Below him, Riku flashed by, again and again.   
  
Seconds passed, slowly, painfully. Sora wasn’t nearly high enough in the air to coast past all of the blows and he knew it. But landing to jump again would just get him smacked, which, sorry, Sora wasn’t really wanting.   
  
Lost in the logistics of quickly diminishing air time, Sora only noticed that it was already too late when one of Riku’s mad dashes caught his legs.   
  
Sora cried out and fell out of the air. He braced to jump again, but--   
  
“Ị̵͘t̶̤̹̄’̴̼̀s̵͔̙̈́ ̵̬̋͠o̴̲̠̓v̵̟̓͂ȩ̶̜͠r̴̳̎͝!̸̣̘͛”   
  
A shock-wave of light consumed him.

 

 _(“Be more careful! Honestly…”_   
  
_“I was trying!!”_   
  
_“Yes, yes. ...Good luck, Sora.”_   
  
_“Thanks, --”)_

  
  
Riku stumbled back, Key falling from his hand. Sora stared into his eyes. It almost felt like the real Riku was there, but before Sora could move Riku vanished.   
  
“Riku!” He glanced around, hoping for any sign, _anything_ , but found nothing. It felt like Sora had been fighting for… for weeks, yet this wasn’t what he..wanted? Expected? (He wasn’t sure what he wanted, other than protecting his friends.)   
  
“Sora!” He jolted and turned to Donald. “Sora, look!”   
  
Goofy pointed up. “The-- the Keyhole...!”   
  
The brunet ran up to the gate and pointed his Keyblade at it. Nothing.   
  
“It won’t work!” Goofy shook his head. “The Keyhole’s not finished yet!”   
  
“What can we do?!” Donald cried.   
  
Goofy looked out to where Kairi was still lying on the ground. “Maybe we’ve gotta wake Kairi up…” 

Sora followed Goofy’s eyes and then stopped. “A Keyblade that unlocks people’s hearts…” He brought his hand up to his heart. If he needed to wake Kairi up then, Sora needed to get her heart out somehow. “I wonder…”  
  
Donald looked up at him, uneasily. “Sora...?” 

Goofy blanched. “You don’t mean--!”  
  
He walked out to where the Keyblade of heart still sat. Sora picked it up and looked it over.

He nodded. This’ll set Kairi’s heart free.  
  
“Sora, wait!” Goofy called.   
  
Sora smiled back at them, and turned back to the Keyblade. Grabbing the middle with both hands, without hesitation Sora stabbed it right into his heart.   
  
Arms falling to his sides, the Keyblade exploded into lights and hearts all around him. Sora’s eyes fell as he waited for Kairi’s heart to leave.   
  
Maybe reluctant to leave him (in his last moments whole), but he felt it a second later. Sora smiled to his side where he thought she was, but really his sight was fading. The feeling felt strangely familiar, but it didn’t matter. Sora’d found Kairi at last, so… 

That was… what mattered right?

 

  
Falling…

  
  


 

falling…  


 

  
  
_into darkness._ _  
_

 

_(“Oh. Did I...did I die?”_   
_  
“No. Your body might not exist, but your heart is still connected your friends.”)_

 

Light glittered far away, like moonlight on the ocean’s surface.

 _(“That’s good! ...Then, why am I here?”_  

_“To say goodbye.”_

_“What..?!”)_   


Above, the light brightened, from night to day.

_(“Don’t worry, it’s not forever. Just, be more careful from now on. Alright, Sora?”_

_“But! I don’t... I don’t want to lose…”_   
  
_“You won’t. Remember, if you ever_ truly _need me, call my name. I’ll hear.”)_   


All around the darkness started fading out into white.

 

_(“...okay, --”)_

 

Light, bright and clear.  


  
  


Sora woke up in Kairi’s arms with another’s name on his tongue, and an emptiness he can’t explain.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the most fight scenes i have ever written. i have conquered the fight scene
> 
> anyway, (maybe) next time on retry, continue: namine draws a picture. vexen has an experiment. roxas's first days.


	3. Chapter 3

When Naminé woke up, she couldn’t see anything. The world was dark, and cold.

It took her a few (moments? Minutes? Time has no meaning when you don’t remember what that is.) to finally realize that it was dark because her eyes were shut.

Naminé opened her eyes, and looked up at the stars. Perhaps real stars, but she couldn’t tell, not really. All around her were fragments of light, shedding off a central river. That river of light started off thin and orderly, but after a certain point it was just… a mess really.

There were places were the river was almost fraying, cut short again and again, but it kept moving forward. Around each of those fraying areas were nebulae of light.  
  
Like fragments of stardust, after something scattered it all. 

Naminé squinted up at all. This wasn’t real, she knew that much. Or well, it wasn’t physically there. The blonde didn’t really know what was, though. For that, Naminé would need to see past all of that.

The girl reached out towards the nearest points of light to brush them away—

 

_Lightning streaking through water—_

_—laughing with a friend someplace that doesn’t quite exist—_

_—a blade striking his shoulder—_

Her head pounded, she needed… she needed to get them out, she needed to draw.

_Light reflecting off the mirror like water—_

_—blistering heat brushing his back—_

_—a promise—_

Naminé’s hand grasped upon a notebook she didn’t know she had.

When the organization found her later on, the blonde was still frantically drawing away.  
  


* * *

 

The stars really were beautiful. Sora had to admit that outdoor camping really was good for that at least. The three had run out of tents yesterday, but looking up at the sky, Sora couldn’t mind.

All of them were there! Every last star! 

The thing about losing stars was that you never really noticed they were gone until they came back. While a little emptier, the starry sky had seemed just that, starry.

But now… it was so _full_.

Sora smiled up at them, then his face fell. He had a lot of connections now, had made so many friends, but… he felt so lonely. Someone was missing, just like those stars. 

Sora had thought and thought about it, ever since that first night after closing the door. There was someone he wanted to talk to, to tell about his battles, and the door, but… Sora just couldn’t remember who.

During the day, Sora told himself that it was Riku and Kairi. He never did get that reunion, and there was _so much_ he wanted to tell them. 

But at night, looking up at those strangely full skies, the brunet couldn’t help but wonder. Wonder if he had forgotten someone like one of those stars.

 

* * *

 

“In other words, don’t bother with them.”

Roxas stared at his companion. Malboro? Marluxia? Yeah, that was it. Something about the guy seemed weird, but Roxas couldn’t really tell what.

Regardless of Roxas’ musings, Marluxia continued speaking. “Your mission is to collect hearts, after all. The other variety—”

With a low noise, creatures (heartless?) appeared out of thin air. They were yellow and pointy, with some symbol Roxas couldn’t quite recognise on them.  
  
“Hmph… is right over there.” Marluxia looked over the heartless, and Roxas felt like he saw something Roxas didn’t. He waved his hand. “Forget about the shadows. Take these out, Roxas. They are your real targets.”   
  
He nodded, and summoned his keyblade. Staring at the heartless, the name appeared in his mind: Yellow Opera. Absently, Roxas wondered what an ‘opera’ was.

(Roxas didn’t notice, but behind him Marluxia made no move to help. To be able to learn about the keyblade power, he’d need to observe a little.)  
  
Running up, Roxas leaped up into the air and slammed his keyblade into its hat a few times. Even as that heartless faded away, Roxas turned to block a ball of lightning. _Ranged attacks..?_

Another Opera charged at him and smacked into his keyblade. With a grunt Roxas pushed the heartless off, sending it a couple feet away. 

Something whistled through the air. His eyes widened. _The other heartless!_

Roxas felt the Opera’s hat stab into his lower back. Pain flared as Roxas lost his grip on the keyblade. Another ball of lightning hit, Roxas left unable to block.

Marluxia ran over, perhaps to help him, maybe to attack the heartless, but Roxas couldn’t tell. His vision was fading, and so was the pain. 

Roxas reached out—

And fell.

 

_Fell..._

 

_...beneath the waves._

_Roxas blinked salt out of his eyes. Wasn’t he...underwater? No, no, he died._

_The Keyblade wielder looked around blankly. Surrounding him was an endless expanse of sea and sky reflected. There was little else, frankly._

_He frowned._ What happened?

_“What are— no, you’re not him. Who are_ you _?”_

_Roxas turned. Behind him was a figure, someone he’d never seen before. Though, they were oddly familiar. The nobody couldn’t remember anything though. “Roxas. Who are you?”_

_“I’m --. How did you get here?” -- paused. “Well, I know the answer to that question. You died, didn’t you?”_

_“I…” Roxas frowned. “I guess I did. What a short life.”_

_The other tilted their head. “...how short?”_

_The nobody thought about it for a moment. “I think they said I joined a week ago. So, a week. I only remember the last couple days though.”_

_“That’s—” There was a long pause. In the silence, Roxas contemplated whether nobodies were alive in the first place. “Hoo boy. What a mess.”_

_Roxas just turned and stared out at the infinite expanse some more. Existential thoughts seemed a little pointless since he was dead either way._

_“Lot quieter than my last guest, aren’t you.” -- muttered. “Right. Let’s get you back to life shall we?”_

_Roxas blinked. “Back…?”_

_\-- put their hands on their hips. “Back to life! After all, if you made it this far, I doubt you_ want _to be dead.”_

_The blond shook his head. “So how..?”_

_“Close your eyes.”_

 

Roxas blinked, and looked around slowly. He was...in the Grey Room? When did he get here?

Trying to remember, he had gotten out of bed and… Fog. What _had_ Roxas been doing the last few minutes? 

Loud tapping rang out behind him, and Roxas blinked out of misty memories. He turned to meet Saïx’s eyes. (Saïx was memorable, even for a new nobody). They stared at each other for a while, before Roxas finally remembered he had a mission.  
  
Walking over, Roxas saw a pink-haired man next to Saïx. He seemed familiar...

 

* * *

 

After that first day, the next couple of weeks passed both quickly and painfully slow for Naminé. The Organization kept her under close watch, and experiments and questions were most of her daily life.

Soon, Naminé finally thought she might know what that light had been: memories. Hundreds and thousands of them.

Once the researcher figured that out, Naminé was left alone most of the time. With little to do, and barely able to see past that mess of memories, Naminé began trying to sort out all of the memory fragments. 

It was slow going, and unrewarding. Most of the fragments were either violent or painful. Naminé couldn’t help but feel an ache in her chest at it all. Hopefully this person couldn’t remember most of this. It seemed a terrible thing to know.

Eventually, when Naminé tired of it, she explored the normal memories. She learned the boy’s name (Sora), watched over his shoulder during his school lessons, and learned about his life.

She learned what the ocean was like, what other worlds looked like… It was peaceful, compared to the fragments. Even the lessons were wonderful, though Naminé could tell Sora wouldn't agree. The memories were grey and half-there compared to even the fragments, but the blonde found them fascinating.

Most of all, Naminé learned a lot about how friendships were formed. After all, it seemed like half of the memories the nobody watched were of Sora making a new friend, or getting closer to one. (Or growing further apart.)

Naminé tapped her pencil on her sketch-book absently. Based off of what she’d seen, Naminé had a niggling thought that maybe her behavior wasn’t good for a friendship. 

_It didn’t matter._ Her fingers clenched on the pencil involuntarily. _After all,_ she thought. _You can’t be friends with someone you’ve never spoken to, right?_ The memories had been clear on that much.

Naminé closed her eyes, but the lights from dozens of memory shards kept shining. She was never alone in a way, with all these memories keeping her company. (And very, very alone in every other way.)

The doors behind her slammed open, sound echoing hollowly in the cold, white room. Naminé started, and gave covert glance at the source.

She didn’t know her, but that meant nothing when you were only a week old. It was someone else wearing the Organization coat, a woman with blonde hair. The woman’s eyes were cold, cold in a way beyond just a lack of emotion.

Naminé stared back down at her notebook, feeling oddly chilled.

Footsteps clacked sharply in the air as the woman circled round to Naminé’s front. The Organization member gave her an assessing look, then pulled Naminé’s chin up so they were looking each other in the eyes. “Hmph. So you’re the witch, huh?”

Naminé didn’t know what the other meant by ‘witch,’ but there was no-one here but her. She gave a small nod. Her arms felt freezing, Naminé suddenly wished her dress came with sleeves.

A grin cut across the other woman’s face. “Right. Well, you’re a brat, but I don't know what I else I expected. The name’s Larxene. Come on, let me tell _all_ about what we need from you.”

(Somehow, Naminé felt more alone than before.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i got about halfway done with this chapter before i realized i got part of the timeline wrong oops. at any rate, its out before re:mind and any story bits therein,,,

**Author's Note:**

> so this has been sitting at the bottom of my drafts for three whole years. so uh, heres another series haha


End file.
